Google tried an online version of a wireless store, and the major setback they faced was that it was difficult to obtain their phone on a family plan upgrade. Their store catered to individual plans.

Not so with the Amazon Wireless store. I checked it out, and you can easily see what the price of a phone would be with a new contract, individual upgrade, or family upgrade. Amazon uses Free-2 Day Shipping and you don’t have to mess with filling out rebates. What you see is what you get.

The major carriers and phones are listed on the site. It’s still in beta, but I’m due for phone upgrade, so Amazon Wireless, here I come.

We found a couple tutorials of how to take the components apart, but the fixes described how to replace the hinge.  The dv9000 we worked with seemed like it needed only a tightening of the hinge.

Here’s what we did, and it worked (follow at your own risk…):

1. Took the 5 rubber plugs out from the screen front casing
2. Removed the 5 screws under the plugs
3. Starting in the bottom left corner, we popped off the front screen casing (not completely, but enough to see the hinge in the bottom left corner was not broken)
4. Took out the battery
5. Removed the screws from the top of the battery casing/house
6. Popped off the speaker and power button top panel
7. Tightened the three screws that hold down the hinge to the main board
8. Reassembled the unit

The screen is much more secure now.  The three screws holding the hinge down to the main board needed tightening.

So, if you think that the hinge isn’t broken, you could pop the speaker panel off and tighten the screws without taking off the display casing.

Good luck!

After calling the the local camera shop, they said it would probably cost $170 (we heard some people reporting $250) just to send the camera into Nikon to be fixed.

Oh, those were the days before the Internet. After a search on the Internet, we found a video tutorial (shown below) of how to fix this exact problem.

The issue was a small trigger in the flash mechanism came off the hinge it pulled back. Simply taking off the flash top cover and placing the trigger back on the hinge did the trick.

A few tips though, open the flash, turn off your camera, and take out the camera’s battery (you may get a little shock otherwise).

I used the Husky 8-in-1 Precision Screwdriver and found that the Phillipss #000 worked best. It took a while to find out how the precision screwdrivers were rated. With Phillips. 1 is big, 0 is smaller, 00 smaller, and 000 the smallest I found.

Nikon D40 Flash Fix from Northern Light Films on Vimeo.

So thanks to Northern Lights for the video tutorial above!

– Sidenote Update –

I thought I’d mention that my sister also purchased a Nikon DSLR. Her model is newer than mine and can record video (you almost wish they wouldn’t update those cameras so fast! It makes you feel like your brand new purchase is out of date too fast).

Anyway, she asked me what kind of case to get for the camera. Her Nikon came with a carrying case, but come on, those cases are usually way too big and too bulky to take out with you. They might be good for traveling and storage, but not for taking with you on your daily excursions for your photo safari.

I’ve been happy with the bag I purchased on Amazon made by tamrac. Rather than just a bag, it’s a sling pack that makes it easy to take around and get the camera out in a jiffy. I’ve noticed that holsters and sling bags have become pretty popular for carrying SLR cameras with just the bare necessities.

As I searched for a bag, I wanted to find one that would protect my camera. There are a lot of very small bags out there that don’t offer a lot of padding and protection. I decided to go with the Tamrac 5766 Velocity 6x Compact Sling Pack.

The bag is small enough to be comfortable to wear. and easy to take with you to sporting events, on a hike, or to family events. The camera I use is the Nikon D60 which is more compact than other DSLR cameras, so check how your camera compares to the D60 in size. If the body of your camera is ridiculously big, it might not fit in the bag very well. The D60 I have had room to spare in the bag.

The bag can be slung across your chest and worn at the side of your hip or cinched up as sling/backpack. So once you get your camera fixed, make sure you have a good bag to keep it in so the flash is less likely to get damaged again.

To read the reviews on Amazon for the bag, click here. You can also search search Amazon for larger sizes of the bag.

Visit the Marketplace and download the update to Google Maps.  When requesting directions through Google Maps on your Android phone, simply click Navigation and Whammo!  GPS navigation just like the big boys but for free.

You can also navigate through your phone, check emails, etc. and even have the display turned off and the phone will still speak the directions to you.  Your phone may ask you to install the text to speech engine, but the steps are easy, just press “Install.”

The new LLG Protective Case for the iPod Touch is a great case for the iPod Touch.  I tried it out with a second generation iPod Touch which had the Invisible Shield already applied to the case (the Invisible Shield is a thin, clear, protective film applied to the iPod Touch).  As with any device with the Invisible Shield on it, getting it into and out of the case can be tough, but you don’t want your iPod to slip out!

The LLG Case is made from leather but has a firm and durable form, so hopefully, it will protect against drops much better than other cases.  The iPod slips in though the top and all the bottom connector jacks can be easily accessed.

The only downside is that the light sensor seems to be partially hidden by the case, but alas, so it is with the other case I have, but it hasn’t been that much of a bother.

The real benefit is that the LLG case protects the iPod well but will still make it easy to put my iPod in my pocket.

This update dubbed 1.6 and inspiring owners of the Android phones to go out and purchase donuts in celebration has a lot going for it, and really helps mature the OS, and especially the Marketplace (App Store) interface.

Although tagged as a “minor” update, there are some pretty awesome features that have been added to the phone.

• Updates to the quick search box
• Camera updates
• The Android Marketplace gets a great face lift
• Virtual Private Network ability
• Indicator for battery usage
• Text-to-speech engine that will blow your mind

More highlights from the Android Dev Page.

T-mobile announcement page.

So here I was in the market for another laptop.  I steered away from buying the cheap ones on eBay, because there is something to purchasing a laptop from an establishment with customer service, return policies, and valid manufacturer warranties.

At first, I looked for a netbook, something small, that I could use for emails, etc. while traveling.  I was appalled to find that the netbooks were so expensive when I found a full laptop for the same price at Best Buy, I knew what I would get.

I researched online, and couldn’t find a better deal than this laptop at Best Buy the Toshiba Satellite.  The computer is a basic laptop, no real frills, but it works great for what I need and is a big step up from a netbook for the same price (or less) than the current netbooks.

Our Best Buy had it in stock, although, I wasn’t impressed by the employee’s knowledge of the product.  The price tag was missing on the display, so I asked the employee, and he quoted the wrong price, he then went on to explain that it was 64 bit windows and would run slowly and that this display model was optimized to run more quickly.

After the employee left, I checked the OS, and it was 32 bit.  The processor is faster than my other laptop (RAM is the same).  The price online was the correct price, and the bit about running more optimized?  Give me a break.  New PC’s come with so much extra junk on them running in the background, it’s ridiculous.

Here’s a list of some of the mods:

Remove

• Live Update
• Norton 360
• Google Desktop
• Quickbooks Financial Center
• Wild Tanget Games
• Desktop Icons
• Skype
• Toshiba Resources
• Play Games
• Shop at Amazon

Install

• Enable Windows Defender and turn off unneeded services
• Install Avast
• iTunes

Turn off UAC

Overall, I’m happy with my new netbook…I mean laptop/notebook.

The Canon VIXIA HV40 HD HDV Camcorder is a great camcorder and camera.  Although it still records to DV Tape, the camera can film in either HD or non-HD mode.  The camera can also be set to record at 24 frames per second which all you movie buffs will know is the frame rate for cinema film.

Versatile - The camcorder is more versatile than other camcorders out there.  You have the option of using all auto settings or switching to manual (programmable P) mode that lets you video in Portrait Mode (wish I would have had portrait mode when I did some wedding videos a while back), Sports mode, Snow, Fireworks, and Night.

Manual Focus – The manual focus feature is great.  There’s a little roller on the side of the camcorder that lets you set the manual focus.  Just be aware that you need to press the Focus button and have slid the AUTO to P slider to the P mode.  The switch is below the zoom.

Quality – The video is extremely crisp and clear even when filming in the non-HD mode.

“Constant Flash” – The camera has an embedded light that you can turn on to highlight your subjects in low light conditions.  Personally, I think this is much better than “night vision” which we used once or twice on our old camera, but that was it.  Unless you’re filming lions in Africa at night, the light you can turn on will work just fine.

Audio - The audio recording is clear and we didn’t notice it picking noise from the camera itself.  The camera can also filter our wind to a small degree.

It was getting out of hand! We were either going to stop getting movies (which might not be a bad idea) or figure somewhere to store all of our discs.

Then, we found the Bellagio-Italia CD / DVD Storage Binders by HandStands, and we fell in love. They’re not perfect mind you, but the storage albums have solved our big problem of a mess of DVD jewel cases.

At last count, we have 10 of them, and are needing more because I’d like to store software discs in them too.

Our shelves look soooooooo much better having swapped out all of our DVD cases and placing the DVDs into the binder.

We’ve organized the storage albums by genre: kids movies, adventure movies, etc.

HandStands is the manufacturer and Bellagio Italia is the Brand. The storage albums we have are the Black Pebble and the Brown. They have a burgundy as well, but the Black and the Brown are the favorites at our house. I’ll link to where you can get them below.

Top 10 reasons why the HandStands CD/DVD Binder is better than a plastic DVD storage case:

1. Cleans up shelf space – Think of how much space 48 DVD plastic cases would take up!
2. Lets you recycle the plastic DVD cases
3. Looks great on the shelf
4. Impresses the neighbors when you reach to pull out a DVD
5. Creates organization from the chaos of tons of DVD cases
6. Makes it easy to take movies with you on a trip
7. Gets rid of the frustration of trying to remove a DVD from a tight plastic case which can bend the disc
8. Makes a labeling system easy & ability to categorize your discs
9. Expands to hold more DVDs
10. Finally gives you a space to store home movies and picture discs

Important Specs about the Bellagio-Italia CD / DVD Storage Binders

The binder is “3-ring” and holds 48 discs.  Extra pages can be ordered if you want to store more discs in a single album.  We’ve categorized our DVD binders into Kid Movies, Animated Movies, Adventure Movies, etc.

There’s a little bracket on the spine that lets you write what the binder holds.

You can customize what it says to identify a certain genre or group of movies.

Video Demo from LLG

The albums help protect the DVDs even better than the DVD cases (in our case) because our DVD cases tended to get tossed on the floor and stepped on by the kids.  The storage binders are sturdy, and stand up just fine on their own.

A Sampling of What other reviewers have said about the HandStands Storage Albums

What should you watch out for when using the DVD Storage Albums

The album storage pages have a little lip that you can pull over the DVD’s to keep them securely in place.

Guess what it’s for? To keep the DVD’s from falling out if the album gets turned upside down. Guess who has accidentally turned one upside down…you guessed it…me, and I didn’t have the little lip from the covers pulled over the DVDs. Not all the DVDs fell out, but it wasn’t fun. So be sure to have the lips pulled over the discs.

What you should pay for the Bellagio Italia Albums

The price varies for the albums, but I wouldn’t pay anymore than $20 per individual album. We’ve seen frequent sales, so check on the price. If it’s below $20, you’re good to go.

If you want to save more money, you can buy them in 6 pack.

I’ll put the links below where you can get them on Amazon.com

Why the Six Pack (and we’re not talking drinks or abs)?

I’d recommend getting the pack of six of albums to start off with because most people (like us) have enough DVDs in different categories to merit a separate storage area for each. Having lots of these albums makes it easier to pull out the kids binder and go through the movies in the binder when they want to watch something rather than sort through all the mess of having everything jumbled together.

You’ll also save by ordering in bulk rather than one by one.

Where to Get the DVD Storage Albums

You can get the Bellagio Italia albums at multiple places.

I personally like the brown and the black albums, but hey, if you’re in to Burgundy, more power to you.

Click the pictures or titles below to view the product reviews on Amazon for each pack of 6 albums.

	View the Bellagio Italia CD/DVD Storage Binders (6 Pack Black) on Amazon.com
	View the Bellagio Italia CD/DVD Storage Binders (6 Pack Burgundy) on Amazon.com
	View the Bellagio Italia Brown Cd/ Dvd Storage Binder (Pack Of 6) on Amazon.com

If you want to buy them individually, you can view them here: The Bellagio-Italia CD / DVD Binders on LLGco.com

I plugged in the phone and to my horror found that the LED light wouldn’t turn on.  Sick to my stomach I searched the net and found a few people suggested charging it a bit longer to see if the light comes on, others recommended removing the battery, and some recommended returning the phone.

I tried charging it for a bit, and it didn’t work.  Holding down the power button, and holding the power button plus the camera button didn’t accomplish anything except for letting me know it still didn’t work.

I tried taking out the battery and was really concerned about breaking off the back piece since I really didn’t see how they took off the back at the store to insert the SIM card.

There’s a great little flash demo here:

http://tmobile.modeaondemand.com/htc/g1/

Just click on Guides > Battery Removal to view how to remove the back cover.  Yes, it’s simple, but you want to protect your phone don’t you?

I couldn’t remember if taking off the back voided the warranty, but hey, if you need to get your SIM card out, the back has to come off.  I took the back off and removed the battery, waited a few seconds and then replaced the battery.  Viola! It worked.

Could have been a simple fluke with the phone, a bad application maybe, or perhaps the phone got tossed around a bit (unlikely).

The night previous to this problem with the phone, I installed a number of apps from the marketplace:

• Compass
• Mileage
• OI Notepad
• Package Tracking
• Power Manager
• Stopwatch
• System Monitor
• Video Recorder

I had also received the R33 update to the phone.  A combination?  A single culprit?  My guess is that it might have something to do with the R33 official system update or it could have been one of the apps that digs a little deeper into the phone control such as Power Manager or System Monitor.  If not a software issue, than it’s a battery or battery connection problem.  Either way, I’ll be watching close and will probably uninstall some of the unnecessary apps.

Still love the Android G1, although, I’m going to be even more cautious with it now.